


My Girl

by 0bviousLeigh



Series: Isn't She Lovely [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Family, Other, have your tissues ready
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-09-01 09:30:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8619058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0bviousLeigh/pseuds/0bviousLeigh
Summary: As far as Shuzo is concerned, Yuzu will never know that she’s adopted, because she’ll never have a reason to doubt that Shuzo is her “real father”.





	

Shuzo bids the convenience store owner good night and walks out into the chilly street, clutching his scarf around his neck and his groceries to his chest. Winter is upon the city, and Shuzo is looking forward to getting back to his nice, warm house. His new house, which he just bought a month ago. The thought puts a little spring in his step.

Weighing his options, Shuzo takes a slightly longer way home, on a path between tall buildings that keep him sheltered from the bitter wind. He’s nearly home when a sudden, overwhelming feeling of wrongness envelops him. He stops in his tracks and looks around. There’s no one out but him, and nothing seems to be amiss. Maybe it’s the dark that’s throwing him for a loop.

Suddenly there’s a flash of light from somewhere behind him. Shuzo turns, searching the dark street.

“Hello?” He calls.

A wail splits the silence of the night. Shozo jumps, dropping his bag, and races towards the sound, which is coming from a small bundle of newspaper on the ground a few yards away. Heart hammering in his chest, Shuzo drops to his knees next to the bundle and moves the newspaper aside. He nearly screams when he uncovers a tiny baby lying on the street.

Shuzo unwraps his scarf from his neck and wraps it around the crying baby. It looks to be a newborn, and it’s wrapped in a thin blanket, much too thin to keep any living thing warm on a night like this. Shuzo opens his jacket, tucks the baby inside of it, and takes off at a run.

“Hang in there,” Shuzo says as the baby continues to wail, “I’ve got you.”

Once at his house, Shuzo manages to open the front door without dropping his keys or the baby. He stops by the thermostat to crank up the heat, and he takes the baby out from his jacket and cradles it in his arms. The baby is still crying, its tiny face red, but its ears are tinged blue. Shuzo rocks it in his arms slowly, humming a familiar lullaby.

_‘Hush little baby…’_

After a few minutes the baby’s sobs quiet. Shuzo lays it on the couch, and unwraps it from his scarf and the little blanket enveloping it. Under that blanket, the baby is completely naked.

“Jesus,” Shuzo whispers, trying his best to wrap the thin blanket around the infant girl’s bottom. For some reason, though she doesn’t even have a diaper, the baby is clutching a silver bracelet in her hands. Shuzo then rewraps her in his scarf and carries her to the kitchen, where he retrieves his phone. His fist call is to emergency services, his second is to his good friend.

“Yusho, my buddy,” Shuzo says, bouncing the baby girl in his arms, “Can you come to my house right now with some of those baby diapers your parents gave you? And maybe a onesie? I have someone here who really needs them.”

Yusho shows up about thirty seconds before the ambulance comes careening down Shuzo’s block.

“I told Yoko to stay home,” Yusho says as Shuzo carefully puts a diaper on the baby. They can hear the ambulance approaching. “How did this happen?”

“I found her,” Shuzo says. There’s a knock on the door and Yusho lets in the emergency service workers.

“She was just wrapped in that blanket,” Shuzo says, stepping back to let the experts examine the baby. “Didn’t even have a diaper!”

A police officer takes down the approximate address where Shuzo found her. “And you didn’t see anyone else?” He asks.

“No one!” Shuzo cries. “I mean, I saw a light, but it wasn’t like car lights, it was almost like a floodlight, it was there and gone, it was the strangest thing, and then I heard crying! She was under a bunch of newspaper, I just picked her up and ran!”

The paramedic asks, “How long ago was that?”

“Maybe fifteen minutes?” Shozo guesses. “As soon as I calmed her down and checked for…well anything on her, I called you guys.”

“She had the bracelet?” The police officer asks.

Shuzo is getting whiplash. “Yes she did, is she okay?!”

The paramedic says cautiously, “She’s not hypothermic, which is amazing in and of itself. She’ll get a more thorough checkup at the hospital.”

“I’m going, too,” Shuzo says.

“Sir, that’s not advised—” The police officer says, but Shuzo glares.

“I’ll pay for her expenses.”

The paramedic lets Shuzo ride in the ambulance, and Yusho says he’ll follow in his car. Before they leave for the hospital the police officer takes the bracelet “To see if it can be traced to an owner,” and the baby doesn’t stop crying until Shuzo puts his finger in her empty palm. She clings so tightly that Shuzo has to carry her into the hospital.

At the ER, a nurse escorts Shuzo and the baby to an exam room. Shuzo keeps holding the baby while nurses and doctors come to examine her. They take swabs from her mouth and nose, and they draw blood from her arm.

“Is it safe?” Shuzo asks.

“It’s only a little,” the nurse says, “To see if she’s got any health conditions.”

She’s wet her diaper, and the doctors take that, too. They give Shuzo a fresh diaper, a onesie with a matching hat, and a fluffy pink blanket. When Shuzo finishes dressing her, he places her in a bassinet, only for her to wail loudly. Shuzo scoops her up again and she quiets, nuzzling his neck.

“Would you be willing to feed her?” The nurse asks.

Shuzu starts. “Huh?”

The nurse smiles. “With a bottle,” she clarifies.

“Oh,” Shuzo says, feeling his face heat up. “Yes, okay.”

The nurse leaves, and when she comes back with the bottle, she has a guest with her—Yusho.

“Sorry I’m so late,” He says. “I had to call Yoko and let her know what was going on, so of course she came right over.”

“She’s here?” Shuzo asks, looking around. “Where?”

“She ran into an old friend, they started catching up,” Yusho says. “In fact, that’s what got me here. It was kind of hilarious to watch—a very pregnant lady comes into the hospital yelling that she needs to check on a friend, and a nurse happens to recognize her, so they let me come up. Very odd set of circumstances. Though not as odd as yours,” he adds, looking down at the baby in Shuzo’s arms.

“Very odd indeed,” Yusho says. The baby has taken the bottle, she’s practically inhaling the formula. Shuzo coos at her, “Poor thing, you must be starving.” He sits in the room’s only chair, cradling the baby’s head in the crook of his elbow. She’s a cute little thing, with chubby cheeks and a button nose, and everything about her is unbelievable tiny.

“Shuzo.”

“Hmm?”

Yusho puts his hand on Shuzo’s shoulder. “My friend, I’m not sure they’ll let you keep her.”

Shuzo looks up. “Who said I wanted to?” He blusters. “I know it’s probably not going to happen.”

Yusho frowns. “I saw that look in your eyes. I just don’t want to see you hurt.”

Shuzo scoffs. “I’m not father material anyway.”

He looks down at the baby again. She’s staring at him, and Shuzo can’t seem to meet her eyes. He’s woefully unprepared to take care of a baby anyway, he tells himself. There are so many lovely families waiting to adopt unwanted children, surely this baby will be going to one of them. The baby finishes her bottle, hiccups, and begins to drift off to sleep. Shuzo could try putting her in the bassinet, but he tells himself that she might wake up and cry again. So he continues to hold her, his heart breaking a little bit.

The nurse comes back, this time with Yoko following her.

“Isn’t that a sight,” Yoko says.

The nurse informs Shuzo that so far, everything looks good for the baby. Once the blood work comes back, they’ll know for sure if she’s got any underlying conditions.

“How old is she?” Yoko asks.

“We’re estimating ten to fourteen days, based on the lack of an umbilical cord,” the nurse says.

Shuzo shakes his head. “Such a tiny thing to be on her own.”

“What will happen to her?” Yoko asks.

The nurse holds out her hands helplessly. “That’s up to the police to decide.”

“But when will they decide?” Shuzo asks.

“We’ll keep her overnight for observation,” the nurse says. “After that, as long as she’s healthy, she’ll likely be placed with social services.”

The statement leaves an air of hopelessness in the air. The nurse leaves, and Yoko breaks the silence.

“Yusho, I have something to tell you.”

“What?”

“I…I think I’m in labor. I think I have been for a few hours now.”

Yusho and Shuzo gape at her.

“You’re WHAT?!” Yusho cries.

“Guess you’re in the right place,” Shuzo says.

Yusho rushes Yoko off to the maternity ward, and Shuzo settles in for the night. As long as Yusho and Yoko are waiting for their baby to be born, and no one is kicking him out of this baby girl’s room, is there really a reason for Shuzo to leave? Surely, it can’t hurt for him to be here.

The baby gurgles in her sleep. Shuzo carefully adjusts his hold, letting her lay on his chest. He wonders if she can hear his heartbeat, and if, at ten days old, anyone has ever loved her. Probably not, since someone left her outside in the cold. Shuzo shudders to think what might have happened to her if he hadn’t been there. She almost certainly would have frozen to death. He bites his lip as tears threaten to overwhelm him.

The police come to ask more questions about what happened when he found the baby, and before they leave they give Shuzo the bracelet back.

“We took a bunch of pictures of it, we’ll send them out in the morning, but it doesn’t look like there’s anything truly identifying about it.”

Shuzo nods. “What…what about her?”

The police officer looks at the baby girl. “Well…we’ll have to wait and see what the morning brings.”

The police officers leave. Shuzo talks himself up, and he makes a big decision. He runs out of the room, still holding the little girl in his arms.

“Wait!” Shuzo calls after the officers. The baby stirs, but doesn’t wake up. Shuzo’s heart is racing, and he takes a deep breath. “I have another question.”

 

Shuzo hasn’t moved in hours, except to give the baby another bottle. Shuzo’s been doing some reading on his phone, about newborns, and he’s read that their eyesight isn’t very good, but when the little girl does open her eyes, Shuzo feels like she can see him. He feels like she’s staring him down, and it’s the strangest thing, but it feels like she’s studying him. Shuzo’s only known her for a few hours, but he feels like he knows this child. He feels like she’s an old soul, like there’s some kind of knowledge in those big, blue eyes of hers. It’s unsettling, but it’s sad, too. Babies shouldn’t know anything but love, and Shuzo…he feels like he loves this little girl.

Yusho comes to see Shuzo again around sunrise, and informs him that Yoko’s had the baby, a little boy. The baby girl is sleeping on his chest at the moment, and doesn’t wake up as Yusho and Shuzo talk.

“You look worried,” Shuzo says. “Is everything okay?”

Yusho rubs a hand over his face. “He wasn’t breathing at first,” he says. “He’s…doing better, but the doctors aren’t sure why he took so long to breathe, or what it could mean for him.”

“I’m so sorry,” Shuzo says, his heart sinking. “I really hope he’ll be okay.” He struggles for something positive to say. “What’s his name?”

Yusho grins. “Yuya.”

“I like it,” Shuzo says. He clears his throat. “I…I actually have news for you, too.”

“Oh?”

Shuzo looks down at the baby in his arms. “I spoke to the police. I’m taking her home with me, once she’s released.”

Yusho gasps. “You are? Really?”

Shuzo nods. “Something about her just feels like…like she’s supposed to be mine. It’s the strangest thing because…I want to be a father to her. And I have a feeling she needs me.”

“Shuzo…”

“I gave it a lot of thought and…I want to adopt her,” Shuzo says. “The police said I can foster her, and if they can’t find a relative in the next six months, she’ll be placed up for adoption, at which point I will have first say in the right to adopt her.”

“But are you sure about this?” Yusho presses. “This is a big deal, and to make this choice overnight…”

“Like I said, I feel like it’s the right thing to do,” Shuzo says. “I’ve never been this sure about anything in my life.”

Yusho puts his hand on Shuzo’s shoulder. “Then Yoko and I will support you, whatever you need we’ve got you covered.” He laughs. “Congratulations, my friend! Have you thought of a name for her?”

“I was thinking Yuzu,” Shuzo says, “After my mother.”

“I think it’s beautiful.”

 

It’s not easy, becoming a parent to a baby girl overnight. Yusho helps Shuzo buy and set up a crib and changing table. Yoko teaches Shuzo how to dress her without being afraid of hurting her, and how to measure her formula. But the important things, like how to entertain her and which lullabies put her to sleep or soothe her tears, those are things that Yuzu teaches Shuzo. She’s a spitfire little thing, not shy about letting Shuzo know when she’s unhappy. But Shuzo begins to learn what her cries mean—she’s hungry, she’s uncomfortable, she’s tired, she needs a cuddle—and it gets a little easier.

Shuzo learns to adapt to life with a child. He can’t afford a nanny, so he takes her everywhere. He duels with her strapped into a carrier, and his opponents and audience find it odd at first, but he gains a whole new fanbase of mothers and fathers who remember what it was like to raise a baby. They say it’s sweet, how he’s always with her. They come to him after his matches and give him baby care books, or handwritten notes about their own experiences with their children. Shuzo nearly cries when they do that, it means more to him than their cheers during his duels ever could.

And when the six month mark comes and the police haven’t found a relative for Yuzu, Shuzo signs those adoption papers, and he promptly puts them in a box and stashes the box away in the attic. Yuzu is his daughter. Maybe not by DNA, but whoever her parents are, they don’t deserve her. Shuzo has been the one caring for her and loving her for months now. And he showers her with love. Each time Shuzo kisses her and she giggles, or she reaches out to him, or he quiets her tears, Shuzo wonders how it’s possible for him to have fallen so completely and totally for her. She’s become his whole world, his favorite person to see each morning, the last thing he thinks about before falling asleep at night.

As far as Shuzo is concerned, Yuzu will never know that she’s adopted, because she’ll never have a reason to doubt that Shuzo is her “real father”.

 

The first time Yuzu calls him “Tou-san” is on her first birthday. It’s a joint party for Yuzu and Yuya, and the kids are seated next to each other, grabbing handfuls of cake off their plates and stuffing their faces.

“Yuya, say ‘Kaa-san!’” Yoko encourages.

“Yuya, say ‘Tou-san!” Shuzo says, clapping his hands.

Yuya ignores them, but Yuzu looks up at Shuzo, stretches out a fistful of cake, and yells at the top of her little lungs, “TOU-SAN!”

Shuzo’s jaw drops, and Yuzu shoves the cake into his mouth. She giggles and claps her hands together.

“That’s my girl!” Shuzo says through a mouthful of cake, tears of happiness on his cheeks.

**Author's Note:**

> /clutches my chest/
> 
> OH. I GAVE MYSELF FEELINGS.
> 
> So anyway, my headcanon is that while the rest of the dimension reincarnations were orphans, Yuya is indeed the child of Yusho and Yoko, at least in body. I have it in my head that their baby was stillborn until that piece of Zarc's soul came along.
> 
> But that is something I'm not sure I'll ever write for real.


End file.
